At our house we have a very
bad habit of eating out a lot, and I mean A LOT! I work in the evenings three
days a week and my husband works long hours as well, so no one was cooking. On
blogs and Pinterest I came across the concept of crock-pot freezer meals and
thought that it was an idea that may work for us. I intended to make the meals
months ago, however it was not until recently that I realized just how much we
were spending each month on eating out and how much we could save it I got my
act in gear (plus we bought a new car, are having a baby, and signed a lease
for a bigger but more expensive apartment – REALITY CHECK!).
So I spent several days
pouring though websites looking for recipes that were healthy(ish), had limited
ingredients, and could be served with rice or a veggie as the side. I did not
start off making all the meals at once but rather made a recipe for dinner and doubled
it, freezing the other half. Then I wised up and just spent about 3 hours last
weekend making the rest of the meals which was much easier.
Lastly, when it came to
chicken for the recipes I decided to only use 3 chicken breasts per recipe and
cut the largest in half for myself as I can never finish a full one, this ultimately
saved me money. Also, with the Hawaiian Chicken and Salsa Chicken recipes I could
have gotten away with only using two large chicken breasts as I shredded the
meat after cooking and there was more than enough for 4 meals.
Below are the 6 recipes I
made, which came to 12 meals total—enough for every night I work during the month
and lunch for the next day (24 servings).
**Please note these are not
my recipes and the sources are listed as a link. The links do contain other recipes
that you may like as well so check them out.
Recipes
Dijon chicken
(4-5 servings)
Instructions
Can be cooked on the
stove-top for 15 minutes if the sauce is drained after thawing, or can be baked
in the oven for 35-40 minutes in the sauce. Also, can be cooked in the
crock-pot for 6-8 hours on low.
***EDIT: The Dijon Chicken was not my favorite, I have another in the freezer but I don't think I will make it again.
Italian Chicken (serves 4-5)
2 pounds of boneless/skinless chicken breasts
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
½ cup water*
1 cup Italian dressing (Don’t put in the freezer bag)
Instructions
Place all the ingredients in the freezer bag – except the Italian dressing.*If
you use pre-frozen chicken there is a layer of ice, so you do not need to add
the water. Can be cooked on the stove-top for 15 minutes if the sauce is
drained after thawing, or can be baked in the oven for 35-40 minutes in the
sauce. Also, can be cooked in the crock-pot for 6-8 hours on low.
Salsa Chicken
4 Chicken breast
1 15 oz. can of black beans
1 pound bag frozen corn
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies (like Rotel)
1 jar salsa
1 packet of taco seasoning
Instructions
Place all ingredients in
bag and freeze. Thaw, then cook on low 8 hours. Serve with rice or on tortillas
along with shredded cheddar and sour cream. We stacked corn tortillas, then
chicken, then cheese, and repeat. Put a little guacamole on the very top.
**We have had the Salsa Chicken for diner once and I really
liked it. I served it with cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips. Also before I
served it I took out the chicken and shredded it which made it seem like there
was a lot more food left over.
Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken
(4-5 servings)
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ cup white sugar
½ cup vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
½ cup of pineapple juice (use what’s in the can)
½ can of large pineapple chunks
Instructions
Add all the ingredients to
the bag. Cook 4-5 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low. Serve it over rice and
enjoy. While I am cooking the rice I like to shred the chicken and put it back
in the juice before I serve it.
**I have made this once and
liked it. Next time I would made more sauce/marinade, maybe a half a recipe
more and put a whole can of pineapple chunks in instead of half. I also
shredded the chicken and served it over rice.
Source for above recipes: http://fun-with-sharps.blogspot.com/2012/10/well-you-cant-say-i-never-cook.html
Hearty Beef
Stew
(4-5 severings)
1 pound beef stew
cubes
4 carrots, sliced
4 red potatoes, cut into large cubes
1 package dry onion soup mix
2 cans 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (10 oz) package frozen green peas
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix together
and zip bag closed. When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge
for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 7-10 hours (or HIGH for 5-6 hours).
**This recipe was
good but not gourmet. I put in a whole 16oz bag of peas by mistake and I wish I
had only done half, also I should have cut up beef stew cubes smaller and used
1.5 pounds. I did not add the potatoes to the freezer bag as I worried about
them going brown/black during cooking and just put them in about an hour after
I started the meal in the crock pot, I also added bay leaf, salt, and pepper at
the time of cooking.
Source: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/09/slow-cooker-freezer-meals-make-8-meals.html
Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
12 new
potatoes and cut into ¼ inch round slices or a large bag of frozen potatoes
2 cans of cream
of your choice—I used potato
2 cans of water
2 ham steaks,
cubed--we used turkey ham
8 oz cheddar
cheese
4 cups of
broccoli
salt and pepper
Instructions
Divide everything
evenly into two containers. Cook on low
for 8 hours.
*EDIT* People have mentioned the potatoes turning black if frozen. Mine
didn't do that, but just to be safe, either use frozen potatoes or add potatoes
the day of cooking.
**I have NOT made
this yet but I decided not to add the cream soup to the freezer bag nor the
potatoes. I also used turkey ham as I found it to me much cheaper than regular.
***EDIT: This recipe was okay, my husband liked it - next time I will use cream of mushroom soup instead of potato.
Source: http://www.six-cents.com/2012/06/crockpot-freezer-cooking-101.html
